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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
The Marawood Conference announced its all-conference teams for the South Division for both baseball and softball.
BASEBALL
Stratford senior pitcher/shortstop Cole Hoffman was named the Player of the Year and was one of three Tigers to earn unanimous first-team honors on the 2017 All-Marawood Conference South Division Baseball Team.
Hoffman was fifth in the conference in hitting with a .405 average (15 of 37) and tied for first in runs scored with 15. He also hit one home run, had 12 RBIs and six stolen bases, and was 3-1 pitching with a 2.78 earned-run average and 19 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings.
Joining Hoffman on the first team for Stratford were sophomore Kade Ehirke and senior Lucas Heidmann.
Heidmann had a 2.47 ERA and a 2-1 record on the mound for Stratford, while Ehrike was second in the conference in batting at .452 (14-for-31) with one home run, seven RBIs and 15 runs scored to tie Hoffman for the conference lead.
“Cole’s offense really made teams stay away from pitching him anything over the plate,” Stratford coach Brad Grube said. “He did a nice job as our shortstop and pitched for us as well. Lucas was our team leader in ERA and did a really good job keeping hitters off-balance.”
Auburndale sophomore Colton Wright was also a unanimous first-team pick after hitting .333 with six RBIs and eight runs scored. Wright was 1-1 pitching with a 1.77 ERA and 19 strikeouts and 23 2/3 innings pitched.
Auburndale seniors Logan Willfahrt and Caleb Weinfurter, and Stratford senior Dakota Singer and sophomore Dylan Schoenherr were second-team selections.
“(Colton) is a future player of the year candidate in the conference,” Auburndale coach Mark Brost said. “Caleb had the best changeup in the conference, and Logan was the best blocking catcher I’ve ever coached.”
Earning honorable mention status for Auburndale were senior Dylan Altmann and junior Cam Ertl, and for Stratford were junior Mark Handrick and sophomore Lance Heidmann.
Weinfurter was 2-2 with a 1.64 ERA and 21 strikeouts and 21 1/3 innings pitched, while Willfahrt hit .250 with seven runs scored, seven RBIs and tied for the conference high with nine stolen bases.
Singer batted .289 with a league-high 14 RBIs, while Schoenherr tied for fourth in RBIs with 12 and hit .375 for the Tigers.
“Dakota and Kade were offensive threats and both players did a good job hitting to all fields and working pitchers to help our team succeed,” Grube said. “I am really looking forward to having Mark and Lance, among the others, back, and I will miss this senior group.”
2017 All-Marawood Conference South Division Baseball Team
(* denotes unanimous selection)
First Team: *Colton Wright, so., Auburndale; *Brandon Birkhauser, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Ethan Peters, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Clay Schult, jr., Northland Lutheran; *Dakota Landphier, jr., Pittsville; *Aidan Masanz, sr., Pittsville; *Jacob Neve, sr., Pittsville; *Cole Hoffman, sr., Stratford; *Kade Ehrike, so., Stratford; *Lucas Heidmann, sr., Stratford.
Second Team: Zack Krings, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Logan Willfahrt, sr., Auburndale; Caleb Weinfurter, sr., Auburndale; Carter Hanke, so., Marathon; Kasey Kalafice, so., Wausau Newman Catholic; Bryson Bernarde, fr., Northland Lutheran; Tyler Dammann, jr., Pittsville; Brett Peters, jr., Pittsville; Dakota Singer, sr., Stratford; Dylan Schoenherr, so., Stratford.
Honorable Mention: Joe Grundhoffer, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Tyler Mancl, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Dylan Altmann, sr., Auburndale; Cam Ertl, jr., Auburndale; Riley Anderson, jr., Marathon; Hunter Seubert, so., Marathon; Connor Wulf, jr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Ben Leischer, so., Wausau Newman Catholic; Connor Schubring, jr., Northland Lutheran; David Gustafson, sr., Northland Lutheran; Ryan Zickert, so., Pittsville; Henry Myers, sr., Pittsville; Mark Handrick, jr., Stratford; Lance Heidmann, so., Stratford.
Coach of the Year: Bill Urban, Pittsville.
Player of the Year: Cole Hoffman, Stratford.
SOFTBALL
Stratford senior catcher Brittany Bredeman was a unanimous first-team pick and teammate Kiana Weiler, a junior pitcher, were first-team selections to the 2017 All-Marawood Conference South Division Softball Team.
Bredemann was seventh in the conference in batting average as she hit an even .500 (21-for-42) with a conference-best 10 doubles, one home run and seven stolen bases. She was second in the conference in runs scored with 22 and third in RBIs with 18 out of the leadoff spot in the order for the Tigers.
Weiler went 8-3 with a 1.90 ERA, striking out 58 with only two walks in 62 2/3 innings to help Stratford to a tie for second with Marathon in the conference standings at 9-3. She also hit .462 with 16 RBIs.
“Brittany (four-time all-conference player) limited other teams’ running games and short ball games, called all the pitches on her own, and is a very smart softball player,” Stratford coach Mandy Pankratz said. “Offensively she was a spark as our lead-off batter and provided conference for the rest of our team.
“Kiana was our workhorse on the mound. Her command was outstanding and she trusts her defense when she needs to. Her offensive numbers also really improved this year.”
Among the second-team selections were Auburndale junior Hannah Bolder, and Stratford seniors Sammy Griesbach, Val Liccardi, and Sammy Kaiser.
Bolder hit .433 (13-for-30) with 10 RBIs and 11 runs scored as the Apaches went 6-6 and took fourth place in the Marawood South standings.
Griesbach was fourth in the conference in batting average at .538 (21-for-39) with 13 runs scored. Kaiser hit .361 with a home run, 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored, and Licciardi hit .464 with 18 runs scored and 10 RBIs for Stratford.
“Griesbach really put a lot of pressure on the other team defensively and improved her soft slap (batting) this season, which made her that much more difficult to defend,” Pankratz said. “Kaiser had a great year in centerfield and had some huge at-bats (in the No. 4 position). Val was our vocal leader and always keeps her teammates in the game with her positive support and enthusiasm.”
Stratford junior Cassidy Vanderleest and senior Shalynn Griesmer, and Auburndale seniors Brooke Anderson and Jenna Ertl were among the conference’s honorable mention selections.
2017 All-Marawood Conference South Division Softball Team
(* denotes unanimous selection)
First Team: *Taylor Nelson, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Erin Sullivan, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Ellie Schill, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Kendall Schill, fr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Elizabeth Boehm, fr., Marathon; Amanda Kind, sr., Marathon; Sasha Hornung, jr., Marathon; Lauren Fech, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; *Brittany Bredemann, sr., Stratford; Kiana Weiler, jr., Stratford.
Second Team: Kara Milkey, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Claire Preuss, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Colette Stoflet, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Ellie Shaw, so., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Hannah Bolder, jr., Auburndale; Kenya Kaldunski, jr., Marathon; Paige Kurtz, sr., Marathon; Sammy Griesbach, sr., Stratford; Val Licciardi, sr., Stratford; Sammy Kaiser, sr., Stratford.
Honorable Mention: Elle Leberg, so., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Brooke Anderson, sr., Auburndale; Jenna Ertl, sr., Auburndale; Jenna Dick, jr., Marathon; Molly Mohr, fr., Marathon; Makayla Slaby, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Elise Brown, so., Wausau Newman Catholic; Halley Engelbrecht, sr., Northland Lutheran; Cassidy Maroszek, so., Northland Lutheran; Delaney Grimm, fr., Pittsville; Lydia Sanken, so., Pittsville; Cassidy Vanderleest, jr., Stratford; Shalynn Griesmer, sr., Stratford.
Coach of the Year: Charlie Nelson and Rob Schill, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.
Player of the Year: Taylor Nelson, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.